Chris Wall has worked at the charity for all of its 25 years, changing roles quite a few times along the way, doing everything from building maintenance to room hire and conference co-ordinating to his present incarnation of Brain Charity Chef running our Brain Food Café.

He’s seen the charity from its inception as the Glaxo Neurological centre to its change to Neurosupport then on to The Brain Charity. “I had an uncle who had Parkinson's and I used to see how people treated him when he was out and about; people would make comments about how he was behaving and accuse him of being drunk. It wasn’t very nice to witness someone you care about being treated like that,” says Chris.

“People’s attitudes to people with neurological conditions or disabilities was a real eye opener, but coming to work at the charity was really empowering as I could see there was a different way to do things, people here were treated with respect and having differences really wasn’t a problem.”

Chris fully believes in the ethos of the charity and its view that everyone can lead healthier and more fulfilling lives with the right support. “The biggest change I’ve seen over the years is that we’ve become more and more focussed on the individual, realising that everybody needs help in different ways and it’s not a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

“Some people may need specific information about benefits, they may want to do a social activity or they may just want to come in and have some lunch and hang out with friends. It’s great to see the journey a person takes when they come here. I’ve seen so many people develop and progress over the years and I feel privileged to have played my part in helping them.”